A Home on Martha's Vineyard

Just a good old New England Cape Style Home on Marthas Vineyard, MA, situated in the Historic Harbor District of Edgartown...
... it has the typical white cedar shingles that weather to a light gray and the wooden shutters...

... beautiful wood plank floors, white painted paneling...

... trim and molding...

... rooms with a cozy feel...

... and old seaside charm...

... and one space, call it a "tavern room" that takes you back to the early 1900s. I would feel right at home here. Enjoy your weekend!

Link of Interest: House Styles of New England

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Sea Shell Art

I love it when artists write me and introduce me to their work..., and I got instantly hooked on Brooklyn based artist Alla's seashell art. Her three-dimensional work is so fun and creative...

... a portrait of a lady with painted shells collected along the Atlantic shoreline in Brooklyn...

... a rooster like I've never seen one before...

... and Irises composed of oyster shells painted with acrylics. These are just a few pieces of Alla's sea shell art, if you want to see more just click images..., and my favorite, the lady!

The Hooked on Fridays party is on over at Julia's, go and see what others are lovin' this week.

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Seashell Inspired Window Treatments

With Spring in the air windows open..., and I have window treatments on my mind...

... and interior designer Donna Elle has created a beachy line of fabrics, home decor accessories and seashell inspired window treatments...

... that includes a wonderful collection of resin seashells and starfish that I just love. You can attach them to your existing drapery rods...

... or use them for swag window treatments...

... or simple tie backs...

... available online @ Outer Banks Trading Group or a Retail Store near You..., or use these ideas as an inspiration for a do it yourself project. HGTV has some instructions on how to hot glue shells onto curtain rods and tiebacks.

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Beach Toile

Toile for people like me who love the sea, the beach, and just about everything coastal...

... beach toile towels for the bath or kitchen...

... padded photo albums...

... beach toile picture frames and the list goes on...

... lovers of toile probably know this... Town Toile sells toile fabric, wallpaper, fashion accessories and other home decor items such as placemats, pillows and others..., all in delicious colors. And if you love places like Nantucket, or cities by the sea such as Tampa, Charleston or San Francisco you'll find them printed on fabric and on those accessories. New to Completely Coastal? Then you might also want to check out this all toile bathroom posted here: Nautical Wallpapers.
The Toile Party is on @ Pretty Organized Palace

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Beach Wild Flowers

Just a few lovely beach wild flowers to celebrate the beginning of spring with photos from Trek Nature...
and as always, click on image to go to the source (and learn more about the photograph and flower).

Yellow Lupines on beach dunes in Northern California...

... Beach Daisies in West Wales, England...

... Wild Beach Rose on Maine's rocky coast...

... and there are some Yellow Lupines and Beach Daisies available as posters at Art.com.



Related Posts:
Smelling the Flowers + Beautiful Coastal Photography

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Dream Homes along a Dream Drive (Bellevue Avenue in Newport, RI)

This weekend I'm taking you along Bellevue Avenue in Newport, RI, that was featured on Fine Living's Dream Drives back in 2000, a series that explored some of America's greatest neighborhoods..., perhaps you remember it?
You see Bellevue Avenue on the left, lined with trees and Newport's legendary Mansions which attract thousands of visitors every year that stroll along the Avenue or the Cliff Walk...

... so I took some pictures last Sunday as my husband and I went for a stroll ourselves..., you might know, I live close to Newport, in fact that very show is the reason why we relocated from Long Island to Newport, RI, to a winter rental at first, right on Bellevue Avenue..., which at the moment is still bare, but nonetheless beautiful...


... and while Newport's Mansions are open to the public, the majority of these stately old homes are private residences...

... mega single home dwellings with majestic gates, park like grounds and lots of square footage...

... or multi-family abodes where you can own a condominium and live big on a smaller budget with prices starting in the low 400,000s, not this one though..., if you want an entry like this...

... magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean...

... soaring ornate ceilings...

... a large marble fireplace, beautiful stained glass...

... decorative plaster work and original details from when it was built in 1888..., you pay more, much more, 2.25 million..., and for that kind of money you can buy the estate on 447 Bellevue Avenue...

... well almost, it's actually priced at 2.8 million..., and it's not really an estate either. It's the carriage house of the once lavish Swanhurst Estate built in 1851, "summer cottages" they were called back in those days...

... and while Swanhurst can't boast an ocean view it has gorgeous grounds and a wonderful pool...

... renovated in 1995, it has been recently updated, offering all the modern amenities you would want...

... such as multiple fireplaces, beautiful hardwoods, elaborate moldings...

... gourmet kitchen...

... a formal dining room with decorative ceilings and marble flooring...

... and French doors in the living room that open to a granite terrace..., just to name a few...

But as stunning and unique these places are, both of them have been on the market for a very long time...

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Inspired by Art

I love the idea of hanging a large painting centrally on the wall and then creating a color scheme around it, and I found some great inspiration rooms...

... a vibrant ocean painting is the focal point of this dining area, and colors are repeated with the flower arrangement and dishware...

... an abstract painting of ocean and sky celebrates the cheerful color yellow, darker hues appear on the bed spread...

... a fabulous threesome here, with pillows picking up the calming shades of the greenish blue...

... just like the art piece on the wall, the living room is modern, kept in neutrals and feels a bit bare...

... a powder room as fresh and inviting as the painting on the wall...

... and another abstraction of the sea (I think)... And did you notice that all the rooms except for the powder room use white or creme as the wall color? Simple, straightforward, I love it. See what others are hooked on over at Julia's Hooked on Fridays, and for more great color inspiration and know how, check out Maria Killam's fabulous blog Colour me Happy.
Related Post:
Wall Decor -Think Big

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Outdoor Spaces in Exotic Places

I'm entchanted by the names alone..., like Yiti, Lamu or Bora Bora, outdoor spaces in exotic places with people like you and me lounging on a patio, porch or terrace, enjoying the air and the sea, each others company or moments of solitude...

... a family summer house near the Turkish resort town of Bodrum overlooking the Aegean Sea...

... a remote place in the small fishing village of Yiti by the Arabian Sea in Oman...

... a terrace with views over Hong Kong’s Tai Tam Bay in China...

... a weekend getaway near Sydney, Australia, on Palm Beach, a peninsula called “the jewel of the northern beaches”...

...a San Francisco resident's piece of heaven in Lamu, an island off the coast of Kenya in Africa...

... a roof top escape in Mumbai, former Bombay, on India's western coast...

... a residence on Bora-Bora in French Polynesia, atop a hill surrounded by coconut palms and mango trees...

... and an expat couple's dream on New Zealand's North Island in Cape Kidnappers.
What's your outdoor space like? I'll be lounging in a rocker soon...

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